Commercial & residential glazing · Essex
Commercial Glazing, Bifold & Sliding Doors in Essex
Aluminium doors, windows and glazing in Essex
BDF Architectural installs commercial glazing in Essex — curtain walling, commercial aluminium doors, windows and rainscreen cladding for contractors and developers — and supplies and installs aluminium bifold doors, sliding doors, entrance doors, windows and roof lanterns for homes from Chelmsford, Brentwood and Billericay to Colchester, Southend and Clacton.
We cover the whole of Essex, from Epping Forest and Brentwood on the London border through to the coast. We offer free surveys, bespoke measurements and a full supply-and-install service. All our aluminium systems are manufactured to order and installed by our own teams.
Areas we cover in Essex
- Chelmsford
- Colchester
- Brentwood
- Shenfield
- Billericay
- Braintree
- Basildon
- Rayleigh
- Harlow
- Southend-on-Sea
- Leigh-on-Sea
- Clacton-on-Sea
- Thurrock
- Epping
- Chigwell
- Loughton
- Saffron Walden
Not listed? We cover all of Essex. Contact us to check your area.
Commercial glazing installers in Essex
We fabricate commercial glazing in our West Drayton facility and install it across Essex with our own teams: curtain walling, commercial aluminium doors, windows and rainscreen cladding for main contractors and developers, from Chelmsford and Colchester to Basildon, Harlow and the Thames Gateway around Thurrock.
In Essex that can mean office and mixed-use buildings in Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend-on-Sea, business parks in Basildon and Harlow, or commercial and industrial schemes along the Thames Gateway. Commercial doors can be part of that package or priced on their own: heavy-use entrances for offices, shops and communal blocks, with panic or emergency exit hardware to suit the fire strategy, prepared for access control and automatic operators. Deliveries are sequenced from West Drayton round the M25 and along the A12 and A127 to follow the site programme, and for buildings facing the estuary or the Tendring coast, exposure is factored into the system and finish at technical review.
- Curtain walling
- Façades & cladding
- Unitised façades
- Rainscreen cladding
- Fire-rated glazing
- Brise soleil
- Commercial doors
- Commercial bifold doors
- Commercial aluminium windows
- Commercial aluminium doors guide
Tender enquiry for a Essex project
Tell us the project, location and programme, and attach drawings if you have them. Larger sets can go to info@bdfa.uk.
Glazing in Essex: Green Belt to the estuary
South-west Essex, around Epping, Loughton, Chigwell and Brentwood, sits in the Metropolitan Green Belt, and its larger detached houses are where wide multi-panel bifolds and sliding doors are most common. Chelmsford, and the post-war new towns of Basildon and Harlow, have a lot of newer housing, where the usual job is replacing a tired patio door or opening up a rear extension.
Towards the coast, Southend, Leigh-on-Sea and the Thames estuary towns have Edwardian and inter-war housing and several conservation areas, including Leigh Old Town, and Colchester’s historic centre has its own. Exposure is the other consideration: homes facing the estuary or the North Sea take more wind-driven rain, so the door system’s weather rating and a durable powder-coat finish are worth specifying.
Towns we cover in Essex
Mid Essex centres on Chelmsford, the county town and a city since 2012, with Victorian and Edwardian streets near the centre and large modern estates on its edges; Braintree and Witham to the north have grown the same way. Along the A12 and the Elizabeth line, Brentwood and Shenfield have substantial inter-war and detached houses, and Billericay, Ingatestone and Hutton follow the same pattern. Basildon, Wickford and Rayleigh are a short way south.
North Essex runs from Colchester, with its Roman walls and Dutch Quarter, out to Manningtree and the Dedham Vale on the Suffolk border. On the Tendring coast, Clacton-on-Sea, Frinton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich face the North Sea directly, and bungalows and chalet bungalows are common. South Essex takes in Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea and Canvey Island on the estuary, and Grays and the rest of Thurrock by the river. On the London side of the border we also cover Romford and Hornchurch in Havering.
Across the Suffolk border, we supplied and installed slimline folding sliding doors and aluminium windows across the Wilderness Reserve estate at Sibton.
Popular in Essex
Every product is bespoke, made to measure and installed by our own teams.
Aluminium bifold doors
The usual choice for a rear extension on a Chelmsford or Billericay semi, and for the back of a bungalow, where a three- or four-panel set opens the main living room to the garden.
Aluminium sliding doors
Large panes and slim interlocks suit the wider openings on detached houses around Brentwood, Shenfield and Epping, and leave nothing folded across the terrace.
Flat rooflights
Glazed edge to edge with a thermally broken frame, from 750mm square to 1.5m by 3m, for flat-roofed extensions and garage conversions.
Roof lanterns
A slim aluminium lantern over a kitchen extension, made to the size of the roof opening.
Aluminium entrance doors
Cortizo entrance doors with multi-point locking in any RAL colour, plus Schüco and Aluprof ranges, with the powder coat specified for coastal air in Clacton and Southend.
Aluminium windows
Casement, tilt-and-turn and sliding windows to match new garden doors, so the whole rear elevation shares one frame colour and sightline.
Why choose BDF Architectural in Essex?
Trading since 2013, with our own factory and showroom in West Drayton.
Free Survey & Quote
Measured on site, quoted at no charge.
Supply & Install
Our own teams, delivery to handover.
Premium Systems
Schüco, Cortizo and other leading aluminium systems.
Made to Measure
Built for your opening; no standard sizes.
Aftersales Support
Guaranteed work and aftercare support.
Own Factory
Fabricated in West Drayton since 2013.
Commercial glazing and aluminium doors in Essex: common questions
- Do you take on commercial glazing in Essex?
- Yes. We fabricate commercial glazing in our West Drayton facility and install it across Essex with our own teams: curtain walling, commercial aluminium doors, windows and rainscreen cladding for main contractors and developers, from Chelmsford and Colchester to Basildon, Harlow and the Thames Gateway around Thurrock. Systems include curtain walling, rainscreen cladding, fire-rated glazing, brise soleil and commercial doors.
Read our commercial capability statement → - Do you supply and install commercial doors in Essex?
- Yes, from Chelmsford and Braintree to Basildon, Harlow and Colchester. Our commercial aluminium doors are made to measure for each opening in Schüco, Cortizo or Aluprof aluminium, or Jansen steel, as hinged, sliding or pivot doors, with panic (BS EN 1125) or emergency (BS EN 179) exit hardware to suit the fire strategy. Sliding and swing entrances are prepared for automatic operators and access control, and they can be priced on their own or packaged with curtain walling.
See our commercial aluminium doors → - Do you cover Colchester and north Essex for commercial work?
- Yes. Colchester, Braintree, Witham and the Tendring towns are covered by the same installation teams and the same West Drayton facility as the rest of the county, with deliveries brought up the A12 on a sequence set by the programme. Send drawings, the door and window schedule and the programme, and access and delivery limits are agreed at tender rather than assumed.
- Do you install bifold doors in Chelmsford?
- Yes, with our own teams, from the Victorian and Edwardian streets of Moulsham and around the city centre to Springfield, Great Baddow, Broomfield and Writtle, and the newer estates at Chelmer Village and Beaulieu Park. A typical Chelmsford job is a three- or four-panel aluminium bifold across a rear extension on a semi; on the wider openings of detached houses, large sliding doors are often the better choice. We also install aluminium entrance doors and windows, and cover the rest of Essex, including Brentwood, Billericay, Braintree, Rayleigh and Colchester.
See our aluminium bifold doors → - How much do bifold doors cost in Essex?
- The same as anywhere else we install; we do not price by postcode. As a guide, expect £2,400 for a 2-panel set up to £9,600 for a large 7-panel set, supplied and fitted including VAT. The final figure depends on size, door system, glazing and finish rather than location.
See the full bifold door cost guide → - Do you charge for a survey in Essex?
- No. Survey and quotation are free across Essex. We measure the opening, agree the finished floor level and check access before anything is ordered, because a made-to-measure door has to be right first time.
- Do coastal homes in Essex need a different specification?
- Often, yes. Homes facing the Thames estuary or the North Sea take more wind-driven rain and salt-laden air, so we look at the door system’s weather rating and recommend a powder-coat finish suited to coastal exposure. Distance does not change the price: a coastal installation is quoted on the same basis as one near the M25.
- Can bifold doors be fitted to a bungalow?
- Usually. Widening the rear wall of a bungalow needs a steel or lintel sized by a structural engineer and Building Regulations approval for the structural work. Bungalows often have lower eaves, which limits the door height, so the head detail is settled before the doors are sized.
- Is my home near Dedham Vale or in a conservation area?
- Check with your district council. The Dedham Vale National Landscape follows the Stour valley on the Suffolk border, and in a National Landscape some extensions that are permitted development elsewhere need planning permission. Colchester, Leigh Old Town, Saffron Walden and many village centres have conservation areas, where Article 4 directions can bring replacement doors and windows facing the street under control.